Gyroscopic Investing

I missed the controversy spawned by this Cheerios commercial so I didn't get it either when I watched it the first time. I thought it probably had something to with the black man lying on the couch as a stereotype of the lazy black man but it turns out I was as naive as these children.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... ifdBFp5pnw

I'm amazed that there was any kind of outward public backlash towards a mixed race couple.  Don't get me wrong... I think a decent number of people secretly feel that way.  But I'm curious to know what the nature of the outward backlash was.

At first I felt ashamed because I've maintained for years that America is much less racist than the various race-baiters you see on TV make it out to be in order to make a living (I'm looking at you Al and Jessie).  This caught me by surprise because the commercial is innocuous in the extreme.  The idea that this is offensive to anyone baffles me.  The first thing my wife said is how adorable it was and how we hoped Cheerios ran it even more just to stick it to the racist scum.

However, after contemplation I do think that most of the backlash was on the internet where a vocal minority can appear out of proportion and that the people who find this commercial offensive still represent a minute fraction of the population.  I maintain that America today is far less racist than many who have a vested interest in keeping a certain level of discord around would have us believe.

I think a lot of the supposed backlash is actually discussion.  People who are merely discussing the situation without casting aspersions on it might describe it as "weird" or "unusual", which it factually is, especially on TV.  To people who are overly-sensitized to this kind of thing, that would sound like backlash, even though it may not be.

Also, I realize that there probably isn't actually a useful definition of racism, but I'm not sure that being against interracial marriage (I'm not talking laws or anything, only believing it's not a good idea) is at all in the same league as bad schools, separate water fountains, disqualification from housing and employment, etc, based on race.

Come to think of it, because of the system of government schools where your address determines your school, we still come pretty close to having bad schools based on race.  It's a shame.

Xan wrote: I think a lot of the supposed backlash is actually discussion.  People who are merely discussing the situation without casting aspersions on it might describe it as "weird" or "unusual", which it factually is, especially on TV.  To people who are overly-sensitized to this kind of thing, that would sound like backlash, even though it may not be.

Also, I realize that there probably isn't actually a useful definition of racism, but I'm not sure that being against interracial marriage (I'm not talking laws or anything, only believing it's not a good idea) is at all in the same league as bad schools, separate water fountains, disqualification from housing and employment, etc, based on race.

Come to think of it, because of the system of government schools where your address determines your school, we still come pretty close to having bad schools based on race.  It's a shame.

You'll have to clarify for me a little bit.  I've seen the commercial 5 or 6 times and I don't see what is weird or unusual about it.  I live in one of the areas of the country with a much lower level of diversity, rural Midwest, and I see interracial children and couples frequently enough for it to not be noteworthy.  One of my second cousins is about 8 now and is half black.

I would agree that there are variations in intensity when it comes to racism.  It's hard to argue that feeling uncomfortable with interracial marriage can be equated with the behavior of the KKK.  However, that doesn't mean that they aren't both forms of racism.  Just because one is less damaging doesn't mean it's acceptable.

We are the only country that is obsessive about racism, while actually being far less racist than most other countries.

RuralEngineer wrote:You'll have to clarify for me a little bit.  I've seen the commercial 5 or 6 times and I don't see what is weird or unusual about it.

I'm not sure about the numbers, but I want to say it's something like 7% of couples.  And I'm sure it's hugely more popular in real life than it is on TV, which I think the hoopla about this spot illustrates.  So again, even pointing out that it's weird to see on TV can make it sound like you're against it in real life, and makes it appear to be "backlash" when it really isn't.

RuralEngineer wrote:However, that doesn't mean that they aren't both forms of racism.  Just because one is less damaging doesn't mean it's acceptable.

Just to be perfectly clear: this isn't my view.  But I'm not sure that saying that races shouldn't be mixed *necessarily* has anything to do with one group of people being in any way better than another.  Perhaps such a view has a particularly ugly (and relatively recent) history in this country, which is why it gets lumped in with all the rest.  Maybe I'm wrong, though.  Maybe all the people who don't like it think "my people are better than your people".  I really don't know.

Coffee's observation is pretty spot-on.  My guess is that virtually all the "backlash" is a result of people misunderstanding each other.